April 14, 2021
By: Francis F.M.Harding
Over the years, population diversity in Sierra Leone has strongly increased. Cities in particular have over time become more diverse and multicultural. They face the complex challenge of maintaining and strengthening social cohesion among their diverse population, with its plural identities, lifestyles and behavior.
Sierra Leone has been celebrated as an example of enduring peace, while many post-colonial sub-Saharan African nations have struggled with ongoing armed conflict. Recently on the 23rd March this year the Ahmad Tejan Kabbah foundation for peace and Democracy (ATK) held a symposium for the commencement of the rebel war, on the theme reminding our Selves of Yesterday for Better Tomorrow.
The country has achieved this stability despite one of the most salient predicators of conflict. The rhetoric of national unity as the basis for building a new society is one of the inspirations in the implementation of policies in the current Bio administration. Cohesion and integration do not necessarily mean the same thing. While cohesion is the process that must happen to ensure that different groups are able to get on well together, integration is the process that ensures that new or existing residents, settlers and communities are able to adapt to one another. Social cohesion is often used interchangeably with national cohesion, and national integration. They are not necessarily the same though they are complementary.
Social cohesion and social integration would refer to socio-economic measures and approaches that seek to ensure inclusion and protection of excluded or marginal groups in national development, while national cohesion or national integration focus on the political aspects of ensuring inclusion.
National Unity, Cohesion, Integration and Diversity Management are four key ingredients for peace, unity and sustainable national development for any country especially so for country like Sierra Leone, which has emerged from an eleven-year civil war that trigged by tribalism, regionalism, social exclusion, gender, political intolerance and marginalization, election violence and malpractices, human rights busses etc. which led to national disunity and loose co-existence.
If my institution memory can tell we have democratic and Human Rights institutions such as Human Rights Commission of Sierra Leone, National Commission for Democracy, National Electoral Commission, Parliamentary Committee on Human Rights, Human Rights Commission of Sierra Leone, Political Parties Registration Commission and the Ombudsman Office has been established and they are operating.
Let us talk to the significance of few concepts “Cohesion”, “National Unity”, “Integration” and “Diversity Management” “Unity” for country like Sierra Leone let look at the Coat of Arms of the country and let look at the motto of the country “Unity, Freedom and Justice”, Let look again at the National Anthem, the third line of the first verse “Firmly united, ever we stand”, let look again the National Pledge has the phrase “always work for her Unity, Peace, Freedom and Prosperity”. This is for National Unity, Cohesion is a State of cohering, or of working together, various intermolecular forces that hold solid and liquid together and growing together of normally distinct parts of a plant. Let us work together as solid and liquid to hold ourselves together as Sierra Leoneans. This is for Cohesion. “Diversity management” is the act of building and managing a diverse team. For God sake why Sierra Leoneans we should not work in diversity. This is for Diversity Management.
“Integration” is the act or process of uniting different thing. The practice of uniting people from different political parties after election in an attempt to give people equal rights. Come on Sierra Leoneans, the sky is our limit if we work together and embrace each other. If we look into the benefits of “Cohesion”, “National Unity”, “Integration” and “Diversity Management” they are all ingredients for peace building, stability, order and sustainable development for any country like Sierra Leone. All of these ingredients can stop violence and bloodshed, let take a look at Kigali, Rwanda they fought tribal war after their tribal strife they are head in development.
We are all Sierra Leoneans, we should think as Sierra Leoneans first and then Mende, Limba, Temene, APC, SLPP, PDP second. The joys and sorrows as Sierra Leoneans should be common. I can still remember during the late President Ahmed Tejan Kabbah when one Sierra Leoneans is hurt, all Sierra Leoneans are hurt. The concern of one Sierra Leonean should be the concern of all. I was part of the delegation from the Human Rights Committee, which went to Yenga when it was besiege by the Guineans. All other villages are besieged. Can you remember the death of Hon.Tamba Sam of the SLPP died all political parties mourn, when Hon.Johnson of the APC died all political parties mourn.
Other benefits of benefits of “Cohesion”, “National Unity”, “Integration” and “Diversity Management” are better exploitation and utilization of natural resources, cultural heritage and better understanding of culture due to interaction and mobility, enhanced ability to plan for development, increase foreign direct investments, improved human and infrastructural development, dialogue between citizens etc.